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How a call from Syracuse University shaped Elmira High senior's college future

Elmira High School senior Griffin Squires was unable to have a final high school lacrosse season this spring and it's not likely he'll have a traditional graduation. At a time when good news is a rarity because of the coronavirus pandemic, Squires received a phone call last week that dramatically changed his future.

That call came from the Syracuse University admissions office, which let him know he was the recipient of the Marty Harrigan Scholarship. The scholarship, named in honor of the legendary Elmira coach and educator, will cover Squires' tuition costs for the next four years. That translates into roughly $200,000 worth of education.

Until that moment Squires, 18, was headed to West Virginia University in Morgantown. Although there are still costs such as room, board and books, the sizable scholarship at a university closer to Elmira made for a happy day at the Squires' Elmira home and at Wenzel Contracting, which is co-owned by Griffin's dad, David.

Elmira High School senior Griffin Squires celebrated at home in West Elmira after finding out he will be attending Syracuse University after earning the Marty Harrigan Scholarship.(Photo: Provided)

"I was actually working, shoveling pretty hard," Griffin said. "Next thing you know I look down at my phone and I see a 315 area code from Syracuse, New York. I’m just like, ‘Oh no, here we go.’ Because there’s no other reason they’d be calling me. I answered it and she told me I was a winner and I was just ecstatic.

"My dad was there and he saw me jump up in the air. It was pretty emotional. Going to Syracuse University for four years for a very low cost is something I’ve got to be really grateful about. I just want to thank all my friends and family and anyone who has helped me get to this point. ... It was amazing. I’m still kind of shocked. It was awesome. Everyone was congratulating me and it was just awesome to see how everyone got happy about it, not just myself."

The happy group includes his mom, Jennifer Squires, and his sister, Abbey, a junior at Elmira.

The scholarship is open to Elmira City School District students who are accepted to Syracuse and 80 percent of the funding comes from Elmira native Bill Manning, who previously started a similar scholarship at Dartmouth College, which he graduated from in 1958. Manning was co-founder of Manning & Napier Advisors in 1970 and remains chairman of the board for the prominent money management firm, which is based near Rochester. The rest of the scholarship is funded by Syracuse University.

"Griffin is obviously a thoughtful, appreciative and considerate person," Manning said via email. "I think he is an excellent communicator and a deserving recipient of the scholarship."

The Syracuse-Elmira connection is a significant one, with Elmira native Ernie Davis winning the Heisman Trophy in 1961 for Syracuse, two years before he died of leukemia. Harrigan coached Davis and Manning at Elmira Free Academy.

"When we received the phone call last Tuesday, it was a very highly emotional phone call," Jennifer Squires said. "With the current state of affairs and the doom and gloom, this was a major bright spot in our lives. Our entire family is extremely grateful and overwhelmed with this generous scholarship. We are still in shock. We want to express our genuine gratitude to Mr. Bill Manning for making this happen."

Elmira High School senior Griffin Squires plans to attend Syracuse University after earning the Marty Harrigan Scholarship.(Photo: Provided)

Griffin was able to reach out by phone to thank Manning with an assist from a family friend whose dad is Manning's cousin. Their conversation lasted about 40 minutes and Griffin's mom said topics included Manning's high level of admiration for Harrigan and how the scholarship in Harrigan's honor had its roots in a generous donation from someone Manning didn't know.

"He provided Griffin with some great words of wisdom for his journey in life," Jennifer Squires said. "Just to go back, he got a full ride to Dartmouth College from a gentleman who was some owner of an oil place in Troy, Pennsylvania. He had never met Bill, didn’t know Bill, but funded Bill’s four years at Dartmouth. After being quite successful, Bill wanted to give back, he said, and so he started a scholarship, the same thing at Dartmouth."

The man who awarded Manning the scholarship was Henry Van Dyne, president of Van Dyne Oil Company.

After creating the Dartmouth scholarship, Manning decided to start one at Syracuse to broaden the pool of potential recipients while also honoring the legacy of Harrigan, who died in 2005 at age 83.

"I'm lucky enough to have family members that knew him or knew of him," Griffin said of Harrigan. "I just know he was a very generous guy. He volunteered in his community a lot and demonstrated great leadership and was well liked. He also took kids under his wing when he was teaching in school. Pretty great guy."

Griffin is in the top five percent of his class at Elmira and is a member of the National Honor Society, the National Technical Honor Society and the New Visions Honor Academy. He was honored for having the top grade point average on the Express boys varsity lacrosse team last year and had been a high honors student throughout high school. He also played soccer for the Express.

He plans to major in environmental engineering at Syracuse, with designs on tying his degree back into the construction industry. The plan is to leave for Syracuse on Aug. 25, though uncertainty surrounds most college dates these days. He is hoping to continue his athletic career by playing soccer, lacrosse or basketball at the club or intramural level.

"It was just a pretty emotional day when I found out I got accepted and it may be a big change shifting from West Virginia to Syracuse, but they’re both big schools," Griffin said. "They’re both DI (in sports). I wasn’t really phased about it. I’m pretty excited to be going to Syracuse. It’s one of the most prestigious schools in the nation."

Jennifer Squires said beyond the obvious benefits of the scholarship, it will also provide her son added inspiration to work harder and try to follow the lead of role models such as Manning, Harrigan and Davis. She added the family is thankful for the support Griffin has received from teachers, guidance counselors, administrators and coaches in the Elmira City School District.

The opportunity for the family to take a day trip to visit Griffin in college is significant.

"Not only we are grateful for his scholarship and for him being at Syracuse University, but we are even more grateful to have him only two hours away," Jennifer Squires said. "It’s just a little bit more heartwarming we can run up for the day and provide a nice lunch and a shopping trip and come home in the same evening."